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"Land Titles Being Awarded In An Illegal Manner" - Barria

The former Director of the Public Registry, a member of the Panameñista political party, Luis Barria, said the National Land Authority (Anati) is awarding land titles illegally. According to Barria, it shows in the scandals that have come to public light, and from the beginning they have wanted to blame the Public Registry. "When they created the ANTI law they changed several articles of Law 80 which gave him the power, and the person who opposed was left outside," he told Noticias AM. He said he was one of the people who disagreed with this law, which is why they started problems in the entity (Public Registry) and hence his departure from the institution. He added that the titles processed in the Public Registry from January to July of this year, more than 50% were awarded to Limited Partnerships. "This means they are not being delivered to the people who own the rights of possession as they have been saying," he said. He added that this law has been driven since 2005 only by only wealthy people who have great interest in the lands of the islanders. He said if they do not suspend the enforcement of the ANATI law then they will just continue to award land titles in an illegal manner. (Panama America)

Luis Barria Moscoso - Former Director of Public Regsitry

Editor's Comment: Consider the source. Luis Barria lost his job as a result of the breakdown of the alliance between the Cambio Democratico and his Panamañista party. I would ask him this - why didn't he make this announcements or file complaints before he was fired? If he knew about it the whole time, then he's just as corrupt and responsible as anyone else. In these days of a three way split of political interests in Panama, you have to read literally everything through the filter of "and what political party is that dude in?" It gets very complicated, convoluted, and twisted sometimes. For instance, earlier this spring someone came to me with a story about land being stolen - and the focus was that it was all supposedly being done through the office of Public Registry, at the hands of Luis Barria and company. I didn't follow up, and I'm sure there are all kinds of dirty land titling things going on, all over the place. And check the last name - Moscoso - same as that of the former president Mireya Moscoso. Any relation? No matter, really. The Panameñistas are now 100% outside and looking in, so all they can do is toss hand grenades at the ever higher walls of the Martinelli machine.

You want to know the real scandal about titling in the islands? Its not happening. People who applied to title their ROP, people who have lived on it for years, who met all the requirements (including 5 or more years of occupancy, documentary proof of their rights, statements of no-dispute by neighbors, etc.), who obtained all the required re-surveys, have not had their titles issued. No explanation, just no title.
Anyone who watched the process of the various titling laws as they passed through the legislature understands that there is a hard core of people within the land agencies who are opposed to titling, because titling removes all kinds of lucrative opportunities for graft. They opposed it when these laws were being debated, and they lost the legislative fight. But now they are winning the fight...by simply sitting on titling applications, giving the applicants the slow roll. And their friends in the legislature are now, once again, trying to kill the titling bill by (among other things) making it purely a matter of discretion whether you are allowed to title, even if you have met all the requirements. If Blandon's law is successful, titling applications will be denied to rightful occupants in favor of people who have nothing going for them other than a relative in high places, or lots of money for bribes.
The argument that titling ROP is "illegal" if the title is being issued to a corporation is completely false, as the people who are making that argument know quite well. Everyone who bought ROP in the islands was advised by their lawyer to "put it in a corporation," and most did, including the overwhelming majority of expats who bought small parcels of ROP for their retirement home, or for a small ecotourism business.